18 Halloween Movies To Watch This Spooky Season If You Hate Scary Films

It's that time of year again, folks! Time for ghosts, goblins, ghouls and stuffing your face with chocolate! For some, the best part of the Halloween season is scary Halloween movies. Y'know, like Saw, The Exorcist, Amityville Horror.

However, if you love the spooky spirit but hate violent horror movies, you're not alone. It's okay to enjoy hayrides, cider, jack-o-lanterns and apple-picking — without all the gore. That's why we've compiled 19 Halloween flicks to watch if you hate scary movies.

1. Nightmare Before Christmas

Buena Vista Pictures

Okay, whether or not this belongs in a list of Halloween movies or Christmas movies is still up for debate, but for the purposes of this list we’re gonna go ahead and call it a Halloween movie. Like most Tim Burton movies, it’s a little ghoulish and creepy — but this movie is viewable for even the faintest of heart. It has everything — skeletons, monsters and musical numbers. This movie is super whimsical and fun to watch. It will definitely get you in the Halloween spirit without scaring you senseless.

2. Twitches

Disney Channel

When it comes to classic, non-scary Halloween movies, no one does it like Disney. Twitches is great because it features everyone’s favorite Disney twins, Tia and Tamara Mowry who are — you guessed it, twin witches. When the two rediscover each other after being separated at birth (sound familiar?), they return to their birthplace, the magical land of Coventry to fight ~the Darkness~. Does it get much spookier than that? This movie is suspenseful and exciting, but still has a level of wholesomeness (and slight cheesiness) that makes it Disney-approved.

3. Halloweentown (any of them, TBH)

Disney Channel

Of course, if you’re talking about classic Disney Halloween movies, we have to mention the Halloweentown enterprise. Whether you wanna stick with the OG first movie, or binge-watch the entire four-film series, these movies will make you feel super nostalgic and super excited for Halloween. It was kind of impossible to watch this movie without wishing you had magical powers, a super cool witch-Grandma, and a bus you could take to an alternate, Halloween-centric universe. These movies are perfect if you love Halloween, but are way too easily spooked for horror movies.

4. Hocus Pocus

Walt Disney Pictures

Do you sense a theme yet? No one does family-friendly Halloween movies like Disney. This is another crowd favorite, especially for kids who grew up in the '90s. Being allowed to stay up late on Halloween to watch this in its entirety was one of the best parts of Halloween. Yes, the witches were technically evil and trying to suck the souls out of children, but they were undoubtedly hilarious and sassy — you could kind of see yourself being their pal. Plus, maybe we were too young to notice at the time, but did anyone else not realize that Sarah Jessica Parker played Sarah Sanderson? Wild.

5. The Corpse Bride

Warner Bros. Pictures

Another spooky Tim Burton classic! The Corpse Bride is pretty similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas in terms of how scary it is. It’s got some creepy visuals but it’s undeniably wholesome and family-friendly. Tim Burton movies are also so artistically incredible, adults and kids alike are drawn to them. A musical stop-motion, this story is an unlikely romance that follows Victor Van Dort and Emily as they travel through the Land of the Dead. It’s honestly really heartwarming, and the ending is super beautiful.

6. Psycho

Paramount Pictures

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure this movie is very creepy. It’s more of a psychological thriller/suspense movie rather than a horror movie — like most Hitchcock movies! Nothing that will make you jump out of your skin or permanently scary you violence-wise. This movie is crazy clever and full of plot twists, and has every component of a creepy movie. Beautiful young woman traveling alone? Old, abandoned-looking motel? Off-putting and creepy motel owner? Check, check, check. If by some miracle you don’t yet know the ending of this classic movie, you’re about to have your mind blown.

7. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

CBS

As you can probably guess, this is probably the least scary of all Halloween movies. Nothing is more wholesome and non-threatening than everyone’s favorite Great Pumpkin skeptic, Chuck Brown. Like all Peanuts movies, the Great Pumpkin is super adorable and silly, although there’s always a part of us that feels super bad for sad ol’ Charlie Brown. Was there any more relatable pop culture moment than Charlie Brown receiving nothing but rocks while trick-or-treating? Plus, Charlie Brown’s totally-botched ghost costume inspired countless Halloween costumes for generations to come.

8. Ghostbusters (either one)

Columbia Pictures

Whether you’re a fan of the original or prefer the all-women, modern version of this movie — it doesn’t matter! All that matters is that you have a non-scary movie full of ghosts and ghouls to entertain you this Halloween. Plus, a bunch of the original cast members show up in the new movie (if you’re a sucker for nostalgia). The Ghostbusters franchise is not only great for Halloween, it’s hilarious all year-around.

9. Shaun of the Dead

Universal Pictures

If you’re not familiar with Shaun of the Dead, it’s basically one of the most ridiculous zombie satire movies of all time (and maybe the only one?). Not gonna lie, this movie can get seriously gory and a little gross, but it’s so over-the-top and silly that it’s definitely not a scary movie. Basically, there’s a zombie apocalypse in London and it’s up to Shaun, an average electronic salesman, to fight off the zombies and protect himself and his loved ones from becoming infected. To give you an idea of the ~feel~ of this movie, it takes Shaun a few hours to realize that the world is quite literally ending because he and his buddy are too hungover.

10. The Little Vampire

New Line Cinema

As far as adorable Halloween movies go, you can’t beat The Little Vampire. This heartwarming family film follows nine-year-old Tony as his family moves to Scotland. Tony finds an unlikely friend in a young vampire named Rudolph, who he runs into while exploring the new castle his family lives in. This movie has lighthearted suspense, friendship, and adorable lil’ vampires. Not only will this movie give you a bunch of childhood ~feels~, the soundtrack is as 'early 2000s' as it gets. We’re talking Aaron Carter, The A*Teens, and Baha Men.

11. Any Harry Potter Movie

Warner Bros Pictures

Honestly, the Harry Potter movies should have been first on this list. OBVIOUSLY, the Harry Potter film franchise is a go-to any day of the year, but Halloween is when the beauty of these movies can really shine — especially during the first three flicks. All the witch and wizard-craft, spooky monsters and magic feel even more exciting when you’re in the Halloween spirit. Plus, even if you normally don’t care about the Harry Potter movies (if so, who are you even?), it’s hard to deny that movies about a school of magic is the perfect flick for getting in the Halloween spirit.

12. The Haunted Mansion

Disney

Everything about this movie screams spooky and fun Halloween movie. Maybe a lot of people already know this, but the movie is actually based on the Disneyworld/Disneyland ride, not the other way around! In a classic Halloween movie set-up, Eddie Murphy plays a total workaholic who doesn’t spend nearly enough time with his family. But when the Evers family ends up spending the night in a ~haunted mansion~, they learn all sorts of wholesome lessons about the value of family and all that jazz. Basically, it’s about as Disney as a Halloween movie can get.

13. Young Frankenstein

20th Century Fox

This one is definitely an oldie but a goodie. One of the most classic Halloween movies of all time, we’re talking black and white. This movie takes the legend of Frankenstein and makes the entire thing hilarious and silly, rather than being kind of scary and tragic like the original. Basically, it’s a semi-modern take on Frankenstein, where one of Dr. Frankenstein’s descendants (Frederick) ends up picking up where his grandfather’s work left off, as he attempts to reanimate the dead. Without giving too much away, the best part of this movie is probably watching Frankenstein’s monster tap dance with a little hat and cane. Def not too scary.

14. Paranorman

Focus Features

If you’re not familiar with Paranorman, it’s one of the unsung heroes of wholesome Halloween movies. It’s animated, so you know it’s not scary at all, but it’s surprisingly well-made. This movie follows Norman, an 11-year-old who can talk to the dead. Basically, the kid is given a mission in which he must protect his town from a witch by promising to perform a ritual at sundown. In a wholesome twist, the witch ends up not being evil. We won’t give anything away, but the ending of this movie is seriously heartwarming.

15. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

DreamWorks

All of these movies are gems, but in my personal opinion Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit takes the cake when it comes to Halloween movies. If you didn’t grow up watching Wallace and Gromit, you’ll still appreciate the adorable-ness and surprisingly witty humor in their Halloween special. Basically, Wallace runs a rabbit-catching business to protect the locals’ vegetable gardens. In a science experiment-gone-wrong, he ends up creating a rabbit that turns into a giant, monster-rabbit at midnight. This movie is hilarious and super well-made, to the point where I’m pretty sure my parents liked it more than I did when I was a kid.

16. Frankenweenie

Walt Disney Studios

If you couldn’t tell by the title, Frankeweenie is another great, kid-friendly movie for those of us who hate horror. It’s another Halloween classic from the mind of Tim Burton. When a young boy (Victor) finds a way to reanimate his deceased dog, everything crumbles into chaos as soon as all the neighborhood boys want him to resurrect their pets. The movie makes a lot of super-clever jokes and references to the original Frankenstein book, and would be a great addition to your Halloweeen/Tim Burton movie marathon.

17. Goosebumps

Columbia Pictures

Now that you’re (kind of) a grown-up, we can qualify Goosebumps as a non-scary movie. But TBH, those books were super scary when we were younger, right? This movie is basically the dream-come-true of every kid who read these books growing up, because it actually features Jack Black playing the role of R.L. Stine, the author of the Goosebumps series!
In this movie, Stine’s mysterious character keeps his identity hidden, because all of the characters come to life in his books, forcing him to keep them locked away in his home.

18. Rocky Horror Picture Show

20th Century Fox

No Halloween would be complete without a mandatory viewing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you haven’t seen this cult classic yet, first of all — wow, and second of all — what are you waiting for? Go into this movie with an open mind, and you’re guaranteed to find a great, non-scary movie for you and your friends to watch every Halloween (or whenever you want). Trust us, one second you’re watching this movie for the first time, totally confused and a little weirded out; but all of a sudden it’s five years later and you’re watching it in the theater with your friends, belting along to every song.